The need for a new diplomacy [Letter]

In the 21st century there is no need for geographic borders to separate nations. According to United Nations resolutions, people have a human right to nationality, and in Crimea the majority want to be Russian. The world needs to accept that reality.

But what do you do with those who want to be Ukrainian in Crimea? Lessons should be learned from past failures, and the India-Pakistan disaster in 1947 comes to mind.

In Northern Ireland, some want to be British and others want to be Irish. Within Israel there are perhaps some 20 percent that would rather be Palestinian, and they should have that right. Likewise, the Kurdish people deserve better.

Mosaic Sovereignty is a plan for resolving nationality without conflict so that social integration can occur. It is the acceptance by two or more nationalities to live side by side but to be separated on paper in this computer age.

The U.S. is a model for Mosaic Sovereignty in many ways. As a Protestant I don't have any conflict with my Catholic, Muslim and Buddhist neighbors. It helps that we use a common currency for buying groceries and pay taxes to the same place. Simply basing nationhood on geography creates disharmony and hatred.

Israelis and Palestinians don't talk to one another, and laws are created based on fear. Language, religion, education and other factors enhance nationality. Obviously, these same things separate people from one another.

Mosaic Sovereignty recognizes that there is little need to change this fact of life. We can celebrate our diverse cultures and live side by side. The object is to bring nationalities actively together and not to keep them apart.

This has happened in creating the European Union after World War II, but nations have retained their identity. Integration made conflict unacceptable. Separating people through negotiation is a sword fight, not peace. Punishment solutions and sanctions are useless demonstrations of failure.

We no longer need diplomacy and negotiation practices that are stuck in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. The task of statesmanship should be to bring people actively together and not be restricted by arbitrary geographic borders.